MANILA — Dwight Ramos has always made himself available whenever the call to play for his country comes up, as it has always motivated him to improve as a player.

The 6-foot-4 wingman of Gilas Pilipinas shared that ever since he heard about the national team, he has been grinding and gearing up for a possible stint donning the Pilipinas jersey.

“The first time I heard about it was when I was younger, trying to get me for the under-16, but I wasn’t still that good so I still wanted to work harder and practice more in America,” said Ramos in an interview with Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas’ Carlo Pamintuan.

The Gilas crowd favorite first saw his efforts bore fruit when was listed in head coach Chot Reyes’ “23 for 2023,” which was one of the earliest Gilas pools that then included 23 of the young prospects eyed for a possible spot in the FIBA World Cup.

“And then probably the next time I heard about the national team was when I was in college. I saw the ‘23 for 23’ list. I was on there and I don't know how, but I was, “ he continued.

“After that, I kind of just started thinking that everything I’m doing is geared towards preparing for that. I tried to do my best when I was in college there, improve as much as I can, and in the back of my mind, the 2023 World Cup is approaching.”

But despite his eagerness to play for the Philippines’ Blue, Red, and White, Ramos shared that it has also been one of the most crucial decisions that he has ever made, for it means that he will be leaving his family that is based in America.

“It was more because I finished three years of school, and I only had one year left and it was kind of like, do I stay to finish my last year of school and graduate or move to the Philippines? I thought my credits would transfer over but I ended up starting up as a freshman in Ateneo,” he shared.

“That was the biggest decision.”

“Leaving my family, my little sister, my parents, everybody was in America. I kind of just see them a couple of times a year nowadays. Those are the two hardest decisions.”

While he did not continue his supposed stint with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, Ramos’ sacrifices turned out to be worth it, as he is now playing for the Levanga Hokkaido in the B.League.

“I’ve been playing with the national team and we’ve been playing with the pro players already, and I felt like I was doing pretty well and I was ready to play professionally already,” he said.

“I just didn’t see the need to play college basketball anymore. College basketball pretty much prepares you to play for the professional level. I felt like I was ready already,” Ramos explained.

But for now, his focus is with Gilas as the squad hopes to make a splash in the incoming World Cup that is to be hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.

“It’s big. The fact that we’re starting two months before the actual World Cup, I think that’s the biggest part. It gives us time to work on the stuff that we need to improve on.”

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